According to the American Dental Association, a major source of bad breath in healthy people is microbial deposits on the tongue, where a bacterial coating harbors organisms and debris that contribute to bad breath. The tongue is a haven for the growth of microorganisms since the papillary nature of the tongue surface creates a unique ecological site that provides an extremely large surface area, favoring the accumulation of oral bacteria. Anaerobic flora and bacteria residing on the tongue play an important role in the development of chronic bad breath commonly called halitosis. In general, the bacteria produce volatile sulfur compounds (VSC). If there is enough buildup of the sulfur compounds, the result can be bad breath or oral malodor.
While bladed tongue scrapers have been used in the past, these scrapers are inadequate in respect to their effectiveness on the soft tissue surface of the tongue. Broad flat scraping blades are limited in their ability to reach between the papillae where the bacteria and microdebris have collected. Moreover, notwithstanding the benefits to be gained by any ability to clean the tongue, some users avoid the use of such blades because of lack of comfort on the tongue surface.
Recently, substantial efforts have been expended to develop oral care implements having improved soft tissue cleaners. An example of such an oral care implement has a tissue cleaner in the form of a pad composed of an elastomeric material. The pad is disposed on the head on a surface opposite the tooth cleaning elements. The pad includes a plurality of conically shaped nubs extending therefrom for cleaning between the papillae of the tongue. While this oral care implement provides a substantial improvement over the then existing tongue cleaners, it is somewhat limited in that the pad of elastomeric material is provided on only one major surface of the head. Therefore, the soft tissue pad cannot reach into tight spaces and recesses within the oral cavity.
A further improvement of oral care implements incorporating soft tissue cleansing technology has a head having a single elastomeric soft tissue cleaner applied to the major rear surface of the head that also extends along the side walls of the head. This arrangement allows the soft tissue cleaners to act on the user's gums during brushing.
A limiting factor in versatility of the soft tissue cleaner on the head of oral care implements, thus far, has been the inability to cost-effectively manufacture isolated multiple components on the head. This is in part due to the parametric requirements of existing injection molding equipment and processes.
Despite the aforementioned and other improvements, a need still exists for an oral care implement with a soft tissue cleaner that can provide effective removal of bacteria from the tongue and other oral soft tissue regions while maintaining comfort to the user.